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Amoral Infection
02 September 2006Nicole Greenfield: The media is continually fascinated by what is interpreted as the paradoxical lives of the religiously devout. Most stories center on Christians, mainly evangelicals, and ususally have something to do with their engagement with popular culture. Evangelical hipsters, skaters, sports stars, punk rockers--each has been the subject of countless profiles. The more daring use the same cultural lens to look at other conservative traditions like Orthodox Judaism or Islam, for example, but the story always remains the same--religious people enjoy culture too. But this week at Salon.com Thaddeus Russell showed us that some are in fact paying attention to elements of a larger picture. “Beyonce Knowles, freedom fighter” isn’t merely another “Look, Muslims like hip-hop too” story. Russell asks what it means and, taking it a step further, draws a connection between the current popularity of hip-hop in Muslim nations and the popularity of jazz and rock and roll in the former Soviet bloc. He argues that if rock could be the “soundtrack of glasnost” and thwart Stalinism, then rap and “booty popping” can do the same to Islamic fundamentalism. To Russell, this “amoral infection” spread by means of tape recorders, satellite television, and the internet is the ultimate path to freedom. Okay, maybe it’s a stretch. But at least it’s an idea and it’s a relief to hear something other than the same old story. Russell isn’t a journalist, however. He’s a professor of political science and history. It’d be much more of a relief it were the other way around. But let’s hope that Russell’s piece will encourage journalists to move past the novelty of the merging of religious life and modern culture and to begin seeing the real stories behind it all.
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